We three kings

The following is the devotion from Our Daily Bread, January 6, 2017. 

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. Psalm 95:6

Many manger scenes depict the wise men, or magi, visiting Jesus in Bethlehem at the same time as the shepherds. But according to the gospel of Matthew, the only place in Scripture where their story is found, the magi showed up later. Jesus was no longer in the manger in a stable at the inn, but in a house. Matthew 2:11 tells us, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”

Realizing that the magi’s visit happened later than we may think provides a helpful reminder as we begin a new year. Jesus is always worthy of worship. When the holidays are past and we head back to life’s everyday routines, we still have Someone to celebrate.

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. Psalm 95:6

Jesus Christ is Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt. 1:23), in every season. He has promised to be with us “always” (28:20). Because He is always with us, we can worship Him in our hearts every day and trust that He will show Himself faithful in the years to come. Just as the magi sought Him, may we seek Him too and worship Him wherever we are.

Lord Jesus, just as the magi sought You and bowed before You as the coming King, help me to yield my will to You and to follow where You lead.

When we find Christ we offer our worship.

INSIGHT:

The magi were considered wise, not because they were people of great learning but because they searched for Jesus and—having found Him—they worshiped Him as God. That’s what wise people do. The wise are those who fear God and worship Him!

Three kings on one of the S's from a set of ornaments that spell "Jesus"

Heavy free standing Three Kings ornament

Acrylic ornament

Carole made these ornament in ceramics

An ornament we hang from our doorway shelf

Large kings on camels we found at a vendor''s stand near where we were selling our Or-Pha-Lee Clean

The nativity scene is on the skirts of the kings. Found half price after Christmas.

Handmade ornament bought in Branson, MO.

Tall ceramic kings made by Carole

Miniature nativities

Little glass figures. The tallest one is 3'

We actually have two of these. We bought one and the other was given to us. Made in China so it looks like Delft but isn't real Delft ware which is made in the Netherlands.

All of these figures fit in the little house

These plastic nativities were made in the 50's. Carole remembers them being placed on the tree when she was a child.

The one on the left "Silent Night' is 4 1/4" long


'

They all fit on a 5" doily

Tiny bear tea set. The chicken lifts off the camel tea pot and head comes off of the Joseph creamer. The cups are sheep.

The 2"wobbly figures that all fit in the 3" stable box. 

This reminds me of a cave which is where many people believe Jesus was born. It is actually a shallow  3" tall Christmas tree.

Joseph is 3" tall. Probably a yard sale find.

On a 5" doily

Our smallest nativity-a thimble from the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Eleanor Greco gave it to us-it was part of her thimble collection. It was special to her because she lived on the grounds of the National Cathedral as a child (due to her father's job.)

Smallest two piece nativity

This is a painted seed pod. 

Nativities made from paper and cardboard

Although we do not consider cards as part of our collection, we made an exception with this one that Kathy gave us in 2018 since it is dimensional

This and the following pictures are of 4x8 sheets of paper with nativity figures are them. They were printed in the 1940's and intended to be mounted on marine plywood for outdoor display. They were a gift from the Warren Robison family. 

Everything except the wooden stable is made of paper. The art is called quilling. Thin strips of paper are formed into shapes and glued in place. Carole used to do a lot of quilling but never made anything like this nativity. This piece came from the Folklife Festival in Kutztown, PA. The festival features and explores many aspects of the lives, history and customs of  the Amish. We have been going to the festival periodically ever since our girls were little.
Quilling is an ancient art that began soon after Bibles were first published. People would trim off the edges of the pages of the Bibles and roll them into shapes. Many of the Bibles featured gold edged papers.

This piece also came via the Kutztown Folklife Festival in Kutztown, PA. Carole commissioned the artist to make her a nativity and encase it in beveled glass. The paper is hand cut and the art is called scherenschnitte.

This is one a only a few nativities in our collection that are based on a greeting card. It is a stencil  placed in a plastic frame.

This and the next one are sturdy gift boxes that Kathy gave us. 

Nativities featuring Black figures

It is important for people to be able to relate to Jesus as being like themselves. Jesus sees people as believers or non-believers. God created everyone equal with a soul and a free will. It is up to each person whether or not they accept His gift of salvation. Skin color does not matter. Nativities with African-American figures are hard to find. So, Carole gets excited when she finds figures of different ethnicities.

All in one piece

Given to us by Carla of Lucky Duck Pet Stuff when she was preparing to retire and go out of business.

Also part of our miniature collection

These are African American children dressed up for a nativity pageant. Some of the figures refused to stand on their own, so Carole embedded them in clay.

Think this came from a dollalr store

Larger heavy resin nativity

The base for this nativity has cutouts for each of the figures-the easiest place to see this is the lamb.

Small ceramic dish with lid that Carole made in  ceramics when learning to use decals.

Bought in a yard sale for five cents